ArticleRoyal Society open science2020
Risk communication in tables versus text: a registered report randomized trial on 'fact boxes'.
Article in Royal Society open science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness and acceptability of evidence synthesis summary formats for clinical guideline development groups: a mixed-methods systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of different visual presentations on the comprehension of prognostic information: a systematic review.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of Three Numerical Presentation Formats on Lay People's Comprehension and Risk Perception of Fact Boxes-A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Communicating about COVID-19 vaccine development and safety.PloS one · 2022Trial
- [Enlightenment through official vaccination communication: an experimental study comparing evidence-based fact boxes with nudges and advertising].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Article
- Explaining seasonality increases perceived effectiveness of influenza vaccination: An experimental study.British journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- COVID-19 vaccine refusal is driven by deliberate ignorance and cognitive distortions.NPJ vaccines · 2024Article
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- Article
- Public-health communication should be more transparent.Nature human behaviour · 2023Article
- A Taxonomy of Non-honesty in Public Health Communication.Public health ethics · 2023Article
- When Artificial Intelligence Voices Human Concerns: The Paradoxical Effects of AI Voice on Climate Risk Perception and Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Article
- Investigating the presentation of uncertainty in an icon array: A randomized trial.PEC innovation · 2022Article
- Structured reporting to improve transparency of analyses in prognostic marker studies.BMC medicine · 2022Review
- A Description-Experience Framework of the Psychology of Risk.Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2022Article
- Article
- Correlates of intended COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across time and countries: results from a series of cross-sectional surveys.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Communicating personalized risks from COVID-19: guidelines from an empirical study.Royal Society open science · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesidentifying effective summary formats is fundamental to multiple fields including science communication, systematic reviews, evidence-based policy and medical decision-making. This study tested whether table or text-only formats lead to better comprehension of the potential harms and benefits of different options, here in a medical context.
designpre-registered, longitudinal experiment: between-subjects factorial 2 (message format) × 2 topic (therapeutic or preventative intervention) on comprehension and later recall (CONSORT-SPI 2018).
settinglongitudinal online survey experiment.
participants2305 census-matched UK residents recruited through the survey panel firm YouGov. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: comprehension of harms and benefits and knowledge recall after six weeks.
resultsfact boxes-simple tabular messages-led to more comprehension (
conclusionsthe brief table format of the fact box improved the comprehension of harms and benefits relative to the text-only control. Effective communication supports informed consent and decision-making and brings ethical and practical advantages. Fact boxes and other summary formats may be effective in a wide range of communication contexts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.